Viola DeLuca
What the Party Knows: Viola is a tiefling bard, born in Waterdeep and well travelled. She studied in the Feywild after running away from her parents’ home when she was sixteen. She’s also shifty and guarded with the truth, which is why I’m adding this section. '' ''Her parents had issued a bounty for her death, backed up by her brother, Vito. While in Barovia, Viola hinted that this was not the only bounty she had on her head; however, she hopes that most of them may have expired in the twenty years the party spent trapped. She goes by the name Lucretia Martine when she can — Viola was never registered by her parents in Waterdeep after her birth, and legally speaking this is her first time in the city. When the group returned to the normal plane, Viola expected a trap, and tried to give a false name when entering Waterdeep to avoid any assassins (although it didn’t work). Her caution was (so far) unnecessary, and she has reconnected with Vito since returning to Waterdeep, becoming invested in family and social life. The players and Jonah know of Vito‘s crime organization; the rest of the party does not. They know that she’s been out with Darius a few times; she has not officially told them that she is a Harper, though she hasn’t tried to keep the fact from them; none of them know at all about her participation in Vito’s dealings, including the fact that she’s hired Lucky to follow her niece. I’ll update this section as it becomes necessary! Spoilers Ahead! (Shawn) Viola DeLuca was born in Waterdeep, the second child of Vincent and Vanessa DeLuca. Both the DeLuca parents and their son, Vito, were human in appearance, and were ignorant (willfully or otherwise) of their infernal heritage. Viola, however, was born fully tiefling -- red skin, black eyes, horns, a tail, and hooves. The DeLucas chose to hide their shame (and their daughter) from the world, confining Viola to the family home. The DeLucas owned several establishments, most of which operated as fronts for their criminal enterprises in and around Waterdeep. Viola learned early on that her parents would resort to almost any means to keep her existence a secret. Desperate for attention, she took to revealing her presence to strangers, knowing that her parents would "take care of" anyone who knew their secret. In her early childhood, she and her brother Vito were friends; as he grew older, however, Vincent and Vanessa encouraged him to treat Viola poorly. By the time she was sixteen, Viola had had enough. She stole a significant amount of money from her parent's safe and ran away, hoping to finally experience the world for herself. The DeLucas responded by placing a bounty on her, with no requirement that she be brought back alive. Viola's first years away from her family were difficult, and she struggled to make enough money to survive. She often turned to crime to make ends meet, and as a result accumulated more bounties and enemies (as well as a flair for the dramatic). She managed to escape Waterdeep, and eventually found her way to the Feywild, where she studied as a bard under the goddess Verenestra. She was granted a magical viola (because I thought that was sooooo funny when I made the character, smh) and again left to seek her fortune with a new set of skills. Viola never fully turned away from the criminal lifestyle. A natural charlatan, she used her charms, beauty, and magic to swindle from the unsuspecting populace -- enough to force her to maintain a nomadic lifestyle. She dodged bounty hunters for most of her twenties, and was successful until 1489 Post Calamity when, en route to Neverwinter, she was ambushed by Balo, Ningia and Tatoya. They beat the absolute SHIT out of her, broke her viola, and were about to cut off one of her horns as proof of her death when the Barovian mists appeared. The blood hunters then left her unconscious on the road for wolves to finish off. She was saved by Ezmerelda D'Avenir, who happened to be passing by. Ezmerelda healed her and repaired her instrument before escorting her to Vallachi. There Viola was able to befriend the bard Rictavio, as well as the other members of what would become The Revenant's Dawn. Viola believed that this party of adventurers offered her the best chance at surviving Barovia, and so she stayed with them even after the disaster at Old Bonegrinder. Initially intrigued by the vampire Strahd Von Zarovich, she grew disgusted with him as more of his personality and history were revealed. During one of the party's attempts to help Ireena Kolyanovich, Viola disguised herself and impersonated Ireena. As a result she was targeted and charmed by Strahd. This unsettled her deeply once the effects wore off, and her sympathy for the plight of Ireena and Ismark grew. After Ireena was abducted by Strahd, Viola stayed close to Ismark as the group frantically tracked down ways to level the playing field in the final fight with the vampire. While trapped in Castle Ravenloft, Viola discovered a firearm in the tomb of a self-proclaimed time-traveler. She began practicing with the weapon, and eventually used it to some effect against Baba Lysaga, the werewolf Ceuril (?), and the deva masquerading as the Abbot of St. Markovia. She is currently training with the weapon in Waterdeep. When the party discovered the werewolf children hiding in Barovia, Viola took an immediate liking to Tural. After Barovia, it was revealed that Tural is technically Viola's brother-in-law: his sister, Vavara, had married Vito DeLuca shortly after Viola entered Barovia. Viola reunited the two after they had escaped from Barovia, and she currently spends as much time with him as their schedules allow, teaching him to play instruments and trying to keep him grounded (despite his new wealthy family). Shortly before the final fight with Strahd, Viola sent a letter to her brother, who she assumed would still be alive in Waterdeep despite the difference in years. She received a letter and a DeLuca family signet ring in return, along with the news that Vito had had their parents murdered years earlier and wanted to reconcile. The letter told her to go to the Elated Enchantress in Waterdeep upon her return. The paper self-destructed once she had finished reading. Later, when forces arrived from the outside world to aid in the fight, Viola was approached by an unfamiliar half-elf assassin. He introduced himself as Cleramar, and held up a branded D'' on his hand. He was an employee of Vito DeLuca, sent to tail the war party and protect Viola long enough for her to return to Waterdeep. Viola was initially distrustful, but Cleramar quickly proved valuable to the group. '''The Blood Hunters' When the group witnessed Lydia, Balo, Ningia, and Tatoya take down a demon lord, it was Viola's spells and bardic inspiration that enabled Silver to steal the book the blood hunters had worked so hard to obtain. In the ensuing fight, she cursed and mocked Tatoya to death, and insisted that they capture Balo for interrogation, making sure she was the first person he saw when he regained consciousness. Viola's gloating backfired when Balo cast a suicidal blood curse on her; luckily, she was able to resist the effects. When the Revenant's Dawn was ambushed by Lydia's group, Viola was a prime target for the resurrected Balo and Tatoya. Lydia demanded to know where the group had stashed the book, immolating Silver and breaking Ismark's legs in an attempt to make Viola talk. Viola refused to cooperate, using the Voice of the Thunderbird to make a nuisance of herself and force the blood hunters to leave in a rush. Viola's life was spared as a favor from Lydia to Borovik. With the blood hunters currently on the loose outside of Barovia, Viola is keeping her eyes open for their reappearance. The Final Fight In the final fight with Strahd, Viola's attempts to seal the vampire in a wall of force again made her a target for Rahadin. Her concentration was immediately broken, and the Revenant's Dawn was forced to improvise. Thanks to Cleramar's scouting, the group was able to send forces to destroy Strahd's magical heart. While the group fought with the witches of Old Bonegrinder, Viola managed to break down two sealed doors and save Ezmerelda from a gruesome death at the hands of Strahd. Viola's aid and bardic inspirations helped to save a number of fighters from death during the second and third phases of the boss fights. She was most relieved to see that Ismark survived the fight in the end. After Barovia Viola is currently mending fences with her family in Waterdeep, as well as enjoying everything that civilization has to offer. She was unperturbed to find that twenty years had gone by and that Vito was now almost 50 -- on the contrary, she was relieved and excited that so many people seemed to have forgotten her. At the Festival of Heroes, she threw herself wholeheartedly into the festivities, making friends (and friends with benefits) with other adventuring parties, and winning the Storytelling competition by a significant margin. She has recently joined the Harpers, and her affiliations with the DeLuca family's more illicit activities are beginning to expand out of the public eye. If you're still reading this, kudos honestly. This is a damn novel. People Viola likes/has made attempts to be friends with: Ismark Kolyanovich, Cleramar, Ezmerelda D'Avenir, Raenar Neverember, the Urchin's Five (Nikolaj specifically), Gwendolyn and Anka, Darius Walsh, Vito, Vavara, Tural, Valencia, Davil, Lucky People that have beef: Balo, Tatoya, Lydia I feel like there were more but honestly most of them are dead... I have so many drawings of Viola, so they’re All going here!